Reclaiming Silences: The Vietnam War
The exhibition of the Vietnam War at the New-York Historical Society presents the origin, progression, and impact of the war during the U.S.’s involvement in it, and constructs a historical narrative that covers not only the military conditions in the war front but also events happened in the home front that incorporated social process relating to patriotism, citizenship, gender, and race. However, this historical narrative only provides a perspective from the U.S. standpoint, demonstrating the role of the presidents, armed forces, and social movement within the U.S. context, yet paying less attention to normal people and vietnam soldiers, which Trouillot defines as the “silences”, claiming that “any historical narrative is a particular bundle of silences”. The incomplete story leaving out many essential elements affects people’s understanding of the Vietnam War to be narrow and incomplete.
